Iraq detains 35 officials in weekly corruption sweep
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi authorities detained at least 35 officials and employees in six separate corruption cases between July 12 and July 19, according to a Shafaq News review. The detentions spanned five provinces or operational jurisdictions and seven government sectors, from the Defense Ministry to customs posts on the Kurdistan Region's boundary.
The week's arrests form part of a nationwide anti-corruption campaign ordered by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took office in May and directed the first wave of raids on June 28 under Dawn Crackdown (Sawlat al-Fajr). That operation, carried out largely by the Counter-Terrorism Service, was executed by the Federal Commission of Integrity, an independent state body mandated to investigate public-sector corruption, acting on warrants from the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court.
Read more: Iraq's Dawn Crackdown by numbers: 67 arrests explained
Defense Sector, Iraqi Airways Records The Largest Single Case
The two largest cases of the week reached the Defense Ministry and Iraqi Airways. The Federal Commission of Integrity announced the detention of a major general, a brigadier general, a colonel, and five engineers from the defence ministry's Directorate of Military Works over a contract to rehabilitate and equip the Air Force Hospital in Baghdad's Al-Rustamiya district. The contract was valued at 92.88 billion Iraqi dinars, approximately 71 million dollars.
The Iraqi Ministry of Transport also suspended eight senior Iraqi Airways officials as authorities investigate the disappearance of 16 billion Iraqi dinars ($12.2M) from the state-owned carrier's accounts.
Nineveh, Diyala and Al-Diwaniyah
Six detentions were recorded in Nineveh province. Four Oil Ministry employees were held after auditors identified discrepancies between fuel quantities logged at a government filling station and the volumes physically present in its tanks, with proceeds from state fuel sales found in the personal vehicle of the station's cashier. Two Finance Ministry personnel at the Pension Directorate were detained separately for processing original pension transactions without the applicants present and without legal authorization.
In Diyala, two Health Directorate employees were arrested in connection with an established case involving alleged bribes to inflate medical disability ratings from roughly 30 percent to at least 50 percent, a threshold that allows applicants to retire on full salary. The cumulative total in that case has reached 12 detentions, of which two fall inside the review week.
Four municipal employees were detained in Al-Diwaniyah in southern Iraq, among them the chair and members of a committee reviewing land applications, over suspected manipulation and forgery in transactions involving plots allocated to lawyers.
Customs And The Legislature
At the Darman crossing, a customs point on the boundary between Kirkuk province and the Kurdistan Region, six employees were detained for allegedly holding up legally complete customs transactions until traders and citizens paid money.
The single arrest touching the legislature was that of Talal Al-Zobaie, a former member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and former chair of its Integrity Committee, detained in Baghdad.
Where The Week's Cases Fell
Measured by sector, defense and military works accounted for eight of the 27 detentions, customs and border administration for six, oil for four, municipal administration and state land for four, health for two, finance and pension administration for two, and the legislature for one.
By location, Baghdad recorded nine detentions, Nineveh six, the Kirkuk-Darman crossing six, Al-Diwaniyah four and Diyala two.
Al-Zaidi told a cabinet session on June 29 that the measures were in their early phase, describing the campaign as a first stage of a broader effort to restore state authority.
All detainees referred by the Federal Commission of Integrity this week were held under warrants issued by the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, which will process the cases, according to commission statements.
Asset Recovery And The Next Phase
An Iraqi government source told Shafaq News that the return of stolen funds and confiscation of assets acquired with public money could recover about 10 trillion dinars ($7.6 billion). Authorities have also named 40 individuals suspected of corruption, among them four lawmakers, serving and former deputy ministers, directors-general, intermediaries, and prominent business owners from across Iraq's communities.
Another source revealed that the anti-corruption committee headed by al-Zaidi is preparing a list of roughly 127 individuals accused of smuggling public money and acquiring property and assets inside and outside Iraq.
A specialized team tracking Iraqi funds moved abroad has identified the principal figures in the file along with properties and assets purchased with public money after 2005, according to the source. The holdings named span Kuwait, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Iran, alongside a number of African and European states, and include tourist resorts and luxury hotels. Statement translated and paraphrased from Arabic.
Once the inventory is complete, those named will be confronted over the acquisitions, and recovery procedures will follow, the source said, covering property inside Iraq in Baghdad, Saladin and al-Anbar as well as assets held abroad.
Read more: Can Iraq recover billions in stolen assets abroad?
